The Ancient City of Jericho

Through out much of her history, the ancient town of Jericho has been
associated with walls. The most notable story of Jericho is that of Joshua, who
according to Biblical accounts, caused the circumvallate walls to "come
tumbling down." The natural walls surrounding Jericho also are of
historical importance to the ancient settlement.

The original walls of Jericho are the result of seismographic activity
producing a great rift extending from the Sea of Galilee to Northern Africa. The
land in this region dropped some 3,000 feet and settled at least 900 feet below
sea level. At this low elevation we find one of the oldest ancient urban
dwellings of recorded history, Jericho.

Bounded by Mt. Nebo to the east, the Central Mountains to the west, and the
Dead Sea to the south, we find Jericho in the center. Aside from these natural
fortifications, Jericho also benefited from natural irrigation afforded by the
Jordan River approximately four miles to the west, and from underground
tributaries from the Central Mountains which fed her famous oasis. This
irrigation resulted in teeming plant life and helped to transform Jericho into a
flowing sea of green in an otherwise barren desert.

Jericho's natural resources, beauty, and natural defenses caused her to
become the ideal locale for trade. These attributes also made her the source of
envy and a coveted possession for invaders of ancient Palestine. Given that
Jericho is located in roughly central Palestine, access to her neighboring
city-states was a major key to Jericho's importance to invaders and to traders
alike. Jericho's location was ideal for the establishing of trade routes and for
communication exchange.

Jericho had relatively easy access to southern neighbors such as Jerusalem
and Bethlehem, and to northern neighbors such as Beth Shan and Nazareth. On the
other hand, the mountains on her eastern and on her western sides which fostered
natural defenses by raising over one mile in height, also caused isolation from
her neighbors. For these reasons, invaders saw Jericho as a key to controlling
Palestine.

About twelve thousand years ago, people of the Natufian culture were
attracted by the presence of a reliable spring of water to the otherwise
desolate site of Jericho, located six miles north of the Dead Sea. It had
become a major Neolithic settlement by 8000 B.C.

Neolithic inhabitants of Jericho lived in pit dwellings,
domesticated animals, and produced decorated pottery. During the Bronze
Age (ca. 2000 B.C.), the need to defend the settlement led to the
construction of massive city walls and towers.